


Warp & Weft

by shinysylver



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Force Bond (Star Wars), Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Sharing a Bed, Telepathic Bond, The Force Ships It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-04 22:09:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16798003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinysylver/pseuds/shinysylver
Summary: In the wake of Snoke's death, the Force bond connecting Kylo and Rey begins to collapse. Kylo's rapidly deteriorating health doesn't escape Hux's notice.





	Warp & Weft

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kyluxtrashcompactor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyluxtrashcompactor/gifts).



> kyluxtrashcompactor, you gave me so many amazing prompts and I chose to use the following in your gift: canon fic, hurt / comfort, angst with a happy ending, and bed-sharing. I had a lot of fun writing this story and I hope that you enjoy it! Happy Holidays!! 
> 
> I have to give so much credit to huxandthehound for being an amazing beta. She made this fic so much better with her diligent editing and wonderful suggestions. I am so grateful to have her work with me on this.

"What are your orders, sir?" the lieutenant asked, deferentially.

Kylo stared blankly at the star maps in front of him. His head was pounding and he was too exhausted to think. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with the hundreds of questions that were thrown at him every day. Leadership was quickly losing its appeal. Intellectually he'd realized that Snoke delegated most of the day to day operations of the fleet, but he'd never actually given much thought as to why.

"The Resistance is heading to their last remaining bases near Hoth. We should convene the fleet there to finally destroy the vermin once and for all," Hux said, quietly enough that only Kylo heard his suggestion. Hux hated accommodating Kylo, but he did what was necessary to avoid confrontations and keep the Order running. He was mentally cursing and plotting against Kylo the entire time, but outwardly he was a stellar soldier.

"Take us to Hoth," Kylo ordered. Hux may be biding his time to dethrone Kylo, but today was not that day. He was easy to read, projecting his thoughts loudly, and Kylo didn't sense any deceit in his suggestion. "Relay orders for all ships in that quadrant to convene there."

He spun on his heel and left the room. He could feel Hux's curious eyes following him, but he ignored him. He was barely holding it together and the last thing he needed to deal with was Hux. The man was too clever for his own good.

The pain in his head was growing to unbearable levels and he needed to get away from the nonstop questions. If he stayed much longer he was going to end up killing somebody and while that might be a nice distraction for him, it would probably be bad for morale. Murder should be saved for only the most extreme cases and no matter how satisfying it would be, killing the next officer that asked him to sign off on a requisition probably didn't qualify.

Three stormtroopers were walking in his direction, blocking his path. He raised his hand and they were thrown aside, crashing against the wall. They hadn't done anything except be in his way, but that was enough. It was all he could do not to pull out his lightsaber and clear the path with more permanent results.

If he had his way he'd cut straight through the ship itself to get to his quarters.

Finally, he reached his own rooms and let himself in. He made a beeline straight for the 'fresher where he kept the meds he'd been given. The suggested dose was two pills, but two didn’t even take the edge off of the pain so he dry swallowed three. He leaned against the sink and stared at his reflection in the small mirror, taking in his bloodshot eyes and gaunt cheeks. He’d always been fair, but he was paler than normal and his scar stood out in stark contrast.

Nothing was going to plan.

He gave into the burst of anger that flowed through him and punched the mirror with his bare hand. The sharp pain in his knuckles was a welcome relief from the never ending headache he'd been trying to manage for weeks now. Calling the cacophony in his mind a headache was too kind. The pain had been growing steadily since Snoke's death and it had finally gotten bad enough last week that he couldn't manage it with meditation any longer and he'd gone to the medics.

Kylo rinsed off his bloody knuckles and went back to his desk. He pulled up the brain scans the medics had performed and studied them for the thousandth time. There was nothing structurally wrong with his brain, but there was abnormal activity in his thalamus, a storm of electrical impulses that no amount of meditation had been able to calm. In fact, the headaches had grown so severe that he had been unable to properly commune with the Force for days. He could still manipulate the Force to do simple things like throw the stormtroopers or read Hux's surface thoughts, but anything that required deep concentration was impossible.

It was all Snoke's fault. He'd never asked to be bonded to Rey and now that their bond had grown unstable he was suffering the repercussions. His only consolation was that she had to be just as miserable as he was. Not that that would be much comfort when he finally went mad from pain or had a stroke.

He rubbed at his temples. Even the large dose of painkillers was barely helping now. Pain wasn't usually a problem for him; it was closely connected to the Dark Side and he could harness it for power. But not this pain.

Enough was enough. Kylo contacted the bridge and ordered them to redirect the ship to Snoke's former citadel. The war could wait; he needed Snoke's library.

That accomplished, he laid down to rest and had just managed to fall asleep when the door chimed, jerking him awake. The alert was soft, but it echoed loudly in his skull and he forced himself up to make it stop. He took just long enough to straighten his robes, trying to appear as if he had some semblance of control before opening the door.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Hux asked aggressively as he entered the room. He paused and reluctantly added, "Supreme Leader."

Kylo suppressed a wince at the volume of Hux's voice and briefly considered choking him just to shut him up. Unfortunately without Hux he'd have to actually do _all_ of the miserable bureaucratic nonsense that was required to lead the damn fleet, and he couldn't deal with that thought at the moment. "What are you angry about?"

"The ship has been rerouted back to the Unknown Regions," Hux said. "Without my authorization and without an explanation."

Kylo stepped forward into Hux's space and stared him down until Hux finally dropped his eyes. "As Supreme Leader my word is all that's needed and I don't owe you an explanation."

"Of course," Hux agreed, sarcastically. "But I can better serve your wishes if I know what they are."

Kylo didn't appreciate his tone, but it was better than outright rebellion so he let it slide. "Snoke had a base on a moon near Rakata Prime. I need his library."

"All of this for some books? The Resistance is on the run. We need to eliminate them before they have a chance to regroup."

"Skywalker may be gone, but the girl survives. I need to prepare to face her." Kylo was stretching the truth, but only slightly. In his current state he would be useless against Rey--assuming she was any better off than him.

"A scavenger from Jakku shouldn't cause this much disruption," Hux muttered. He straightened up, standing at parade rest. "Very well. There may be other things of use at the Supreme Leader's base. It could be worth the detour."

"There is only one Supreme Leader," Kylo reminded Hux. "And it would be good for you to accept that sooner rather than later. You are dismissed."

Hux inclined his head--an action that shouldn't be disrespectful, but somehow he managed it--and left the room.

Kylo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, but the action did nothing to help with his headache. He could tell that Hux suspected more than he was letting on. Hux always knew more than he should.

**

Hux stepped out of the shuttle and into a raging snowstorm. He pulled his coat up around his face and briefly wondered if accompanying Ren was really worth this misery. He hated the cold. Of course he also hated the heat. He wasn’t fond of weather at all, preferring the controlled environment of space ships, but if he had to deal with nature in all its misery he’d rather the temperate climate from his home planet of Arkanis.

He looked sourly at the citadel in the distance, barely visible through the worsening blizzard. The storm had forced them to land some distance away, although if pressed he had to admit that Ren had managed to land them closer than any of their other pilots would have. The rough terrain would be difficult to navigate at the best of times, but during this storm? Practically impossible.

Ren took the lead, slogging through the knee high snow although he was moving slower than expected. Pushing forward through the snow was giving him more trouble than it should and he looked as though a strong gust of wind could blow him over.

Hux shook his head. Ren wasn’t fooling anyone. Well, that wasn’t true. Most of the officers were too terrified to even look at him, so they probably hadn’t noticed his sickly pallor and bloodshot eyes.

But the idiot wasn’t fooling Hux.

Not much happened on his ship that he didn't know about, and their fearless leader taking painkillers like candy and spending most of his time locked up in his room wasn't something that slipped his notice. He'd managed to obtain Ren's brain scans from the medics and knew that there was something very wrong with Ren's brain. Well, more wrong than usual at least.

He just hoped it killed Ren quickly, before he had a chance to further destroy the First Order and all that it stood for with his selfish and inept leadership. Keeping an eye on the situation was why he’d insisted on accompanying Ren on this trip. He didn’t believe for a second they were here for any reason other than Ren’s mysterious illness and he needed more information.

The icy wind was making him question that choice. Perhaps he should have let Ren suffer in peace and saved his curiosity for warmer climates.

Hux was frozen to the bone by the time they reached the citadel. It had been carved into the mountain itself and the only way in was through a massive metal door built directly into the stone. He glanced around for a panel of some sort, but he couldn't see any indication of one.

"There's only one way in," Ren said. He was breathing heavy--much heavier than Hux, which was yet another sign that he was unwell. Ren had always taken great pride in his physical abilities and trained relentlessly. The short trek even in a blizzard shouldn't have winded him.

Ren stepped forward and raised his hand, his brow furrowed underneath his snow covered cowl. It was several moments before a shrill metallic scream cut through the night as the door slowly swung open.

 _Of course_ Snoke’s citadel was impossible to enter without the Force. Hux would prefer a more standard security system with droids and guards. After all, the Jedi could enter the building at will.

Ren’s hand dropped and he swayed on his feet. Hux hesitated, but when Ren began to collapse his instincts kicked in and he caught him around the waist. He slung Ren’s arm over his shoulder and then half dragged the man into the imposing fortress and out of the weather.

Unfortunately, Hux couldn’t close the door behind them and Ren was certainly in no condition to do so. Stupid, arrogant Force users and their short sightedness.

“End of the hall,” Ren muttered.

Since Hux had never been invited to any of Snoke’s bases—he wasn’t stupid, he’d always known that Snoke had thought him little more than a pawn to play—he didn’t argue with Ren’s directions. Despite the large entranceway there was only one relatively short hallway and he made his way down it, doing his best to ignore the way Ren was leaning against him.

It had been a long time since he’d touched another person like this. This was no brief brush or purposeful tap. He could feel Ren’s body warmth burning through his chilled skin all along his side, and even worse he, could smell the warm, slightly charred scent that always seemed to hover around Ren.

Scent really was the sense most strongly tied to memory and the smoky aroma of destruction brought up images of a much younger Ren, pressing Hux against the wall after a successful battle. He’d fumbled awkwardly at first but had made up for his inexperience with enthusiasm.

Uncomfortably aware that even as weak as he was Ren could likely read his thoughts—especially with the physical contact—he ruthlessly suppressed the memory and instead focused on the last time he’d been this close to Ren. That moment on Crait had ended in a much less pleasant meeting with a wall.

“There,” Ren muttered pointing at the second to last door.

Hux pushed it open to reveal a small, ascetic bedroom. He dumped Ren on the dusty bed and crossed to the fireplace, glad to get some distance between them. The fireplace looked archaic, but it had clearly been altered to house a more modern heater inside of it.

The heater hadn’t been used in years, but it still worked and Hux was relieved to feel the steady warmth radiating from it after he turned it on. However, it was a small thing and there was no way it would be able to stand up to the cold from the open entrance. Ren would have to recover enough to close it or they would both end up with hypothermia.

Hux pulled his coat more tightly around himself and dragged the room’s solitary chair in front of the heater. He sat down and held his gloved hands over it trying to warm himself, but while the room wasn’t as miserably cold as it was outside, he was still chilled to the bone.

On the bed, Ren had managed to curl into a fetal position with his cloak draped over him for warmth. Hux sighed. The wet cloak made a miserable blanket and as much as he wanted Ren to suffer it seemed too petty to leave him ill and damp.

“Up,” Hux muttered. He tugged at Ren until he got up from the bed—his weak glare anything but scary—and pulled the blankets down. “Take your boots and cloak off."

Ren must have truly been out of it, because he followed the direction without argument, not even bothering to glare this time. Afterwards, Hux shoved him back down onto the bed and took off his own boots and coat.

The bed was smaller than he’d like, certainly not built for two men of their stature, but he was too cold to let that stop him. He laid down next to Ren and pulled the blankets over them both.

“What—“ Ren started.

“For once in your life, just shut up,” Hux interrupted him.

Amazingly enough Ren actually listened to him. Either that or he passed out.

**

The first thing Kylo was aware of was a throbbing at the base of his skull. His brain felt too big for his head and thinking was difficult.He was disoriented and groggy and it took him much longer than it should to realize that he had no idea where he was. He didn’t remember going to bed.

He opened his eyes, wincing as the light seemed to stab straight through him, making his headache worse. Once his eyes adjusted, he recognized the familiar cracks on the ceiling he'd stared at for years and realized that he was in Snoke’s citadel. His memories rushed back, the most surprising of which was the assistance Hux had granted him.

Hux was still asleep and seemed to have closed the distance between them in the night. At the moment he was curled against Kylo's side like a cat. Kylo had never actually shared a bed with anyone before. When he and Hux had fucked in the past it had been just that--fucking. They’d never even made it to a bed let alone slept in one together, but he had to admit the shared body heat had its advantages.

He shifted around so that he could see Hux better. He’d never seen the other man so… soft… before. It was disconcerting.

Kylo’s first instinct was to push Hux aside quickly and rid himself of the confusion being so close to him was bringing, but he found he couldn’t do it. Not after Hux had helped him the night before. Instead he gently slid out from under Hux and slipped out of the room.

He'd come here for a reason and he couldn't let anything distract him from that. The pain and weakness was escalating and he needed to find a solution to the collapsing bond before it was too late.

He made his way back through the familiar hallway. It was strange being here again. Snoke had brought him here immediately after he’d fled Luke’s school. He’d trained here for years and it had not been a pleasant experience. But then, nothing in his life had ever been pleasant. If he’d wanted pleasant he wouldn’t have chosen this path.

The door closest to the entrance was Snoke's library, the repository of all his accumulated Force knowledge. Kylo wasn’t sure what he expected to find when he opened the door, but everything was just as he’d left it years ago. Every book and scroll was still in its place with only the thick layer of dust that coated everything indicating that time had passed.

Kylo bypassed the first several shelves. They were filled with the books and scrolls that he’d read many times as a part of his studies. He knew their contents by heart now and knew that they didn’t contain what he was looking for.

If there was any written record of the Force bonding technique that Snoke had used, it would be in his private collection. Those books were housed at the back of the large library in a small antechamber that he’d never been allowed to enter. Snoke had claimed it would be his to use once he’d finished his training, but that had never happened.

The part of him that had had obedience drilled into him hesitated at the door, but Snoke was no longer here to punish him for his impertinence. Kylo had made sure of that.

Kylo pushed the door open, revealing the oldest, rarest books in Snoke’s collection. There were only a handful of them, but his worsening condition meant that he didn’t have time to read through them all.

He closed his eyes and reached out past the pain, letting the Force guide his fingers. He trailed them along the spines until they hit a book that felt almost sticky, causing his fingers to linger for a moment. He could have kept going, but the sticky sensation was the Force’s way of assisting him.

When he opened his eyes, he was touching the spine of an ordinary looking tome. The books on either side of it appeared to be written on the skins of a living creature—likely a sentient one if the darkness surrounding them was any indication—but this book was written on regular paper, yellowed with age.

He dry swallowed a double dose of his pain meds before sitting down at a small table with the book. It was hard to concentrate enough to read the foreign tongue—the Force made understanding languages easy under normal circumstances—but he managed as best he could.

The book was from an ancient civilization and described using the Force as part of a marriage ceremony. The idea of the Force being an integral part of romantic relationships was strange to Kylo. Clearly this unknown culture had none of the Jedi's hang ups about attachments or the Sith's disdain for them.

Apparently in their culture marriage was rare, but if pursued then during the wedding ceremony both parties would be bound together for the duration of their lives. They would know each other’s minds completely and would even die together, since the death of one partner would sever the bond. People who chose to be so bound were revered in society.

It was hard for Kylo to imagine willingly bonding himself to another person, especially so deeply that he would accept dying with them. Luke had preached moderation in relationships, not as strict as the old Jedi ways, but still cautious. And Snoke, well Snoke had taught that relationships did nothing but make you weak.

Of course Snoke had also bound him to Rey against his will so his beliefs on the matter were suspect at best.

Kylo kept reading. Evidently the ceremony wasn't just for those with the Force. Marriage was sacred to their civilization and their Force users became priests who would facilitate the bonds for those that had no Force sensitivity. That must have been what Snoke had done to him and Rey.

The book contained descriptions of the technique and common rituals, but there was no mention of a bond failing. He'd nearly given up, when he reached the last chapter. The chapter read like a myth telling of a woman who'd been forcibly bonded by a dark priest when she'd refused to marry him. The bond had grown unstable and killed the priest, however the woman had survived when her childhood love agreed to bond her and replace the bond she'd received in violation with one born of love.

Kylo slammed the book closed in disgust. He had no doubt that this was the technique used against him and that by doing it against their wills Snoke had created a bond that wouldn't last. However, the idea that love would save him was preposterous.

Love was a weakness that he'd cut out of himself long ago.

**

The sound of screeching metal woke Hux up. He was out of bed, his blaster in his hand, and dashing down the hall before he had a chance to truly wake up. He holstered his weapon when all he found was Ren sitting on the floor in front of the now closed door. It appeared as though he’d collapsed there, completely drained from his efforts to close it.

Hux approached Ren and knelt down in front of him. His head was in his hands, his fingers digging, claw-like into his scalp. "It looks like I'll be taking over leadership of the Order sooner rather than later."

He'd expected a sharp retort, but the low chuckle as Ren dropped his hands and met Hux's eyes was completely unexpected.

"At least you'll probably enjoy the bureaucracy more than I did."

Hux frowned. It sounded like Ren had actually given up. Ren never gave up; he was bullheaded to a fault. Hux found he didn't much like it. "What's going on, Ren? This fatalism isn't like you."

Ren took a small book out of his robes and tossed it onto the ground in front of Hux. "I may have killed Snoke, but the bond he forced on me will kill me soon. I'd hoped there was a way to fix it, but other than romantic fairy tales there's nothing."

Hux picked up the book curiously and pocketed it to look at later. He wasn't sure what bond Ren was talking about, but that was a question for later. "Let's get you back to bed."

Ren stared up at him, a confused frown on his face. "Why are you helping me? You've been daydreaming about killing me for the last month."

Hux shrugged. "It looks like someone beat me to it."

He hauled Ren to his feet and helped him back to the bedroom. The truth was, he couldn't fully explain why he was helping Ren, but at the very least there was no reason to add insult to injury. Besides, he was beginning to suspect that his hesitation every time he was presented with the opportunity to actually kill Ren had to mean something.

Once Ren was settled on the bed Hux sat down near the fireplace with the book. The pages were brittle with age and it wasn't written in any of the languages he knew, but it didn't take long for his datapad to translate it.

"That's an ancient language from a planet in the Unknown Regions," Ren said, from the bed. "There's no point trying to read it without the Force."

Hux rolled his eyes. “The First Order provides state of the art translation programs on all standard issue datapads. Like any code it can be deciphered. This one wasn't even hard. You would do well to remember that the Force isn't the only answer, or even always the best." He looked up at Ren pointedly. "The entrance door, for example. What's the point of that?"

"No one without the Force can enter."

"But if someone doesn't have the Force they aren't much of a threat to you are they? The Jedi, however can come in at will. It's pointless."

Ren didn't have a response to that, so Hux went back to skimming the book. It was mostly marriage rituals and Force nonsense that he barely understood--although he wasn't going to tell Ren that. "Who did Snoke bond you to?"

"Rey," Ren answered quietly, his voice slurred slightly with exhaustion. "He hoped it would make her join us. But she was not so easily swayed."

Hux could hear the bitterness in Ren's voice and he felt a stab of what felt suspiciously like jealousy. Rey had had Ren's respect, and yet she'd still rejected him. Hux on the other hand had been fighting for respect from Ren for years. They were allies with the same vision for the Galaxy and yet there was still no respect. Hell, Ren had fucked him and still not given a damn.

He pushed away the unsightly jealousy. If the book was to be believed, both Rey and Ren weren't too long for this world. They weren't worth his anger.

He kept reading and when he got to the last chapter, he realized what Ren had been talking about before. The story did read like a fairy tale. The dashing hero who saved the damsel with the power of his love, or so it appeared at first glance, but like usual Ren had missed the entire point. It wasn't about love, it was about replacing a forced bond with a willing one. Consent was the key, not love.

Hux shook his head and set the book down on the table. At some point Ren had fallen asleep which was a good thing, because Hux had a lot of thinking to do.

**

Kylo was back in the throne room on the Supremacy. It was the way he’d last seen it--fires burning on the floor and alarms sounding in the distance.

“I’m sorry, Ben.” He spun around and found Rey standing behind him, a pitying look on her face. Rey looked around at the destroyed room and as if on cue part of the ceiling crashed down with a loud, echoing clatter. “It’s a fitting place to say goodbye.”

Kylo had to agree. As a metaphor, the room was a perfect representation of their failing bond. But he was less sold on the goodbye. “It doesn’t have to be goodbye. There’s no reason for us to both die.”

She turned back to him. “I tried to find another way. Even after everything that you’ve done, I tried to find another way--for your mother's sake. But there isn’t one.”

“We can rule the Galaxy, Rey,” Kylo tried again, desperation beginning to well up inside him. He wasn’t ready to give up yet, not when there was still a chance. “We could stop this war and bring peace to your friends. They would be safe.”

She shook her head sadly. “Your idea of how to end the war is very different from mine. No, Ben, this is goodbye. Your mother sends her love.”

She began to fade, becoming pale and colorless like a hologram and he took a step toward her, his arm outstretched. “Rey, wait! No one else will understand—“

It was too late. She’d flickered out entirely leaving nothing but the devastation behind.

A large chunk of the ceiling fell in front of him, followed quickly by another. The ground was shaking and the fire spreading fast. This was it, their bond was crumbling around him.

He reached out desperately, trying to hold it in his mind's grip, but it felt slippery. He visualized it, trying to make it solid with the Force. He saw it materialize in front of him as a golden cord that disappeared into the distance, connecting them across the great expanse of the Galaxy. The cord was frayed, its threads unraveling before his eyes, but he clung to it and he held on with all of his might.

“That’s not yours anymore,” a voice said sternly, loud enough to hear over the chaos around him. The voice was familiar and he thought it was the stormtrooper who had turned traitor, but he couldn’t be sure. He’d never noticed FN-2187 until he’d betrayed the Order and their one interaction hadn’t involved a lot of conversation.

There was a sharp tug on the bond and Kylo sensed another presence in his mind—likely FN-2187--right before the golden cord snapped, taking the Supremacy with it in an all consuming wave of agony.

**

Kylo jerked awake, gasping for air. He was having trouble breathing and on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Ren! Stay with me." Hux shouted leaning over him, a hand on his shoulder shaking briskly. "Kylo!"

Hearing Hux use his chosen name so familiarly focused him enough to finally take a steady breath. His vision was blurry, but he managed to make out Hux's surprisingly concerned face. "She's gone. The bond snapped."

Kylo raised his hands to his pounding head, and just the action of moving them was harder than it should have been. His body was slowly shutting down and there wasn't anything he could do about it. The book had made it clear that he wouldn't be able to survive the loss of the bond, and he likely only had minutes left to live.

"Kylo," Hux said, giving his shoulder another firm shake, and Kylo had the impression he'd been speaking for a while, but it was so hard to focus. "Listen to me, we don't have much time." Hux grabbed Kylo's hand and arranged it on his face so that his fingers were on Hux's temple. "Create the bond."

"What?"

"Create a bond," Hux said. He pressed Kylo's hand more tightly against his cheek. "I consent to the bond, do you understand? I consent."

Kylo didn't understand. He had no idea what Hux was talking about, but his survival instinct kicked in and he pushed his mind into Hux's and began weaving the cord that would connect them. He remembered the golden cord that had tied him to Rey, but that didn't feel natural. That had been Snoke imposing his will on them.

Inside of Hux he found a surprisingly deep and resilient core that he used as the base of the new bond. It made a thread as bright as burnished steel and just as strong. Around that solid cord Kylo intertwined the colors that had always represented himself--red and black. Working purely on instinct he wove their threads together to create a bond that spoke to him of strength and power.

When he was finished, he connected the thin braid to the ruined place in his mind where the previous bond had been. It snapped into place like a puzzle piece filling the space it had always been intended for and the relief he felt was immediate. He was still drained, but he could think again and his headache had faded to a more manageable level.

"There," Kylo whispered, his fingers falling from Hux's face. The last thing he was aware of before he fell into a deep sleep was the unexpected concern from Hux thrumming through the new bond.

**

Hux had a mild headache and felt disoriented by the time Kylo was done with the bonding. There was also an uncomfortable sensation of being in two places at once that he hoped would dissipate with time.

Ren had immediately passed out on the bed when they were done and Hux did his best to block out the lingering sense of pain he felt in the back of his mind that he knew didn’t belong to him. He hesitated for only a moment before dragging the single chair next to the bed so that he could watch Ren.

He had still been debating the pros and cons of bonding with Ren, when Ren's condition had taken a turn for the worse and he'd had to make his choice.

When he looked at the situation with cold hard logic, Ren was a powerful tool and a necessary figurehead for the Order. Hux could consolidate the military under his leadership, but Ren had the noble ancestry and the Force power to solidify his rule throughout the Galaxy. He just needed to be reined in and apparently Hux had signed up for that duty.

He raised his hand to his temple where he could still feel Ren's lingering touch. If Ren died, then Hux would follow immediately after. It had been a calculated risk and now he had to do the near impossible in order to survive—curtail Ren’s self-destructive streak. That was a worry for another day, though. Tonight his biggest concern was that they were too late and Ren was too damaged to recover. He needed to be nearby in case Ren took a turn for the worse.

Hux studied Ren's face. He'd be lying to himself if he said that his entire motivation was based on his strategic goals for the Order. He also had much to gain personally from their new union. Not only had he just managed to solidify his role in the Order, he'd also protected himself--Ren would have to defend Hux or die. But perhaps best of all, now that Hux had given him this bond, Ren wouldn't be able to ignore him any longer. Ren would finally have to acknowledge him.

Ren stirred, his eyes fluttering open. "Hux?" His eyes opened wider and he sat straight up in bed, his hand flying to his head. "I can feel you." He tapped his forehead. "In here."

"I should hope so," Hux said. "I take it your condition is improving?"

"I'm just tired now." Ren was looking at him curiously as if he'd never seen him before. "Why? How?"

"It was a strategic choice."

"But the book said…." Ren trailed off, clearly unable to even utter the word "love" out of fear that was what Hux actually felt.

Hux rolled his eyes. "Like usual you weren't paying attention. The key to the bond is consent, not love. Both parties have to be willing or the bond will collapse."

"And you were willing… because of strategy?"

Hux could hear the doubt in Ren's voice and he realized in that moment that there was no purpose in trying to hide things from Ren ever again. He'd always been able to read Hux's mind before, but now a part of him lived inside of Hux. Besides, what did the truth hurt? It's not like Ren would sever the bond now. "No, not just because of strategy."

Ren raised an eyebrow and Hux felt compelled to explain further. "You've always been obsessed with the Force. When you met Rey you transferred that obsession to her, trying to lure her to your path." He tilted his head and studied Ren for a moment, suddenly understanding something about the man that had always eluded him before. "You're lonely. But the thing is you and I have always been on the same path. I may not have the Force, but we share the same vision. You don't have to be lonely."

"I'm not sure I like you reading my mind," Ren said quietly.

"You've made a habit of reading mine for years. It's about time you learned what it feels like." Hux hesitated, before continuing curiously. "I've never read someone's mind before, but I thought there would be more to it than that. Are you sure that's what I did?"

Ren nodded. "When the bond is done properly there is nothing hidden between partners. Since you don't have the Force, I expect your knowledge will come in the form of sudden insights like the one you just made." Ren sighed and slumped back against the pillow. "Not that I have any real experience with this. My bond with Rey was not a proper one."

It was strange hearing Ren express anything other than his usual arrogant certainty. Perhaps he was adapting to the reality of their bond as well. "Did she die?"

Ren shook his head. "She bonded with FN-2187."

"The traitor?" Hux exclaimed. "She really has no taste."

Ren actually laughed at that, a short sharp bark that took Hux by surprise. "So, what do you expect from the bond?"

Hux shrugged, he had given it a lot of thought, but other than desiring Ren's respect--which he could feel beginning to develop--and wanting to better serve the Order, he really didn't know. "You have to listen to me now."

"I suppose I do," Ren agreed. A sardonic smile twisted his lips. "Marrying me just to make me listen is a bit extreme, though, don't you think?"

Hux's eyes widened. Somehow in all of the drama he'd forgotten the origins of the ritual that they'd just performed. "Well it's hardly the first political marriage the Galaxy has seen. Would you like to send your mother the announcement or should I?"

Ren gave him a sour look. "My mother means nothing to me. She approved of Rey's plan, signing off on my death. I will take great pleasure destroying her precious Resistance."

Through the bond, Hux could tell that Ren's feelings for his mother were more complicated than he let on, but he decided not to press the issue. "Then we should head back to the fleet and make haste to Hoth."

"In the morning." Ren patted the bed next to him. "You look exhausted and should sleep while the bond settles."

Sleep would likely help his headache and hopefully the room wouldn't be spinning when he woke up. He took off his boots and got in next to Ren. To his surprise Ren rolled over and slid an arm around his waist. The moment Ren's arm touched him his headache faded and the room stopped spinning.

**

Kylo waited until Hux's breathing deepened into sleep before closing his own eyes and seeking out the place in his mind that housed the bond. While his bond with Rey had been visualized as the destroyed throne room on the Supremacy, his bond with Hux was the bridge of the Finalizer.

The bridge looked like it had the day it had first left dock. Every piece was pristine and new, much like the bond they'd just created. He had no doubt that if they didn't properly tend to the bond, this place would slowly decay, but for now it was sturdy.

It was fitting that their connection was represented by the ship that they had commanded together--and likely would again when they returned to the fleet. He wasn't foolish enough to think he could treat Hux the way he had in the past. Hux had earned his place at Ren's side.

When he concentrated he could see the silvery cord he'd woven, thin but strong. He knew that if he followed it he would find himself in Hux's dreams.

This was new territory for him, but Hux was right. He'd been searching for a partner that would share his vision for the Galaxy and with Hux he may have finally found that. He could already feel his bond anchoring him to Hux, but it wasn't holding him back--it was stabilizing him.

His whole life he'd felt out of control--his power chaotic and unmoored--but Hux's single-minded purpose and orderly mind had the potential to provide the grounding he'd always lacked. He would have never sought this connection on his own, but the Force had led him here, to this union, and it felt right. It felt powerful and that was much better than childish fairy tales about love.

Kylo opened his eyes and pulled Hux closer to him. Yes, he thought he could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> In weaving the warp threads are the strong stationary threads that the weft threads are woven between to make the pattern. I like to imagine that Hux is the strong foundation that Kylo can build his life around.


End file.
